need us. >> reporter: they hold services in their homes or small places. they say the traditional catholic church is not meeting their needs. >> reporter: if you could have a meeting with the pope what would you say to him? >> i don't think i would like a meeting with him. i don't think he's open. itis a huge roadblock. >> reporter: it's the roadblock they were trying to remove. the catholic church is resisting. >> is it up to god? >> yeah, i think it is up to god. i think god said to me, you can be ordained. a look at the headlines now. a freed american hiker is talking about her release. she hopes the two americans still held in iran hopes they get out soon.

vowing to fight onley sa murkowski says she will ride on. she lost the primary to a newcomer backed by the tea party movement. hurricane igor is expected to hit bermuda tomorrow night. we are your hurricane headquarter. stay with us for the latest on igor and the other storms in the atlantic. we are in england where protesters are protesting the pope. today, the pope met with victims of the abuse. john allen is our senior vatican analyst, joining us live from london. good to see you. >> hey, fredericka. >> not only is the pope addressing the sex abuse scandal by meeting with victims and everywhere he goes, people are asking him to comment on it.

lately, people are asking him to comment about women being ordained as priests. we heard in carol costello's piece, they don't think the pope is open, but others have said he is the pope that is very open. which is it for you? >> all of the above. i think he's an open guy. he's a world class intellectual and loves the clash of ideas. he's a gracious and humble man who is a great listener. he's got firm convictions he believes are the truth and come from church conviction. one of the fixed points of truth is christ called only men to priesthood and the church doesn't have the authority to ordain them. the women we saw in carol's

priest are not priests or bishops, but sinners in the eyes of god. >> and excommunicated if -- >> not potentially, it's for sure. >> those women in carol's piece, particularly the one woman who was an ordained priest, she was likely on a grander scale would be excommunicated? >> sure. the vatican is carol's piece noted reaffirmed a statement they made back in 2003. a legal ruling that said anyone who participates in it is automatically excommunicated. it doesn't require the pope or the bishop to issue a document or push a button. it's automatic. from the eyes of official.com, the women are excommunicated. >> the reality check here is, it doesn't matter what the growing

support might be of women in the hierarchy of the catholic church it's not likely to change. if it's not going to happen under pope benedict, then it's difficult to disearn if it would ever happen? >> officially, the vatican will say no, it never will happen. john paul ii put out a document in the 1990s on the ord nation of priests. he said it's definitive church teaching that only men can be priests. the footnote is that the vatican and the church in centuries past they say something will never happen then it does. in a short term scenario that we anticipate, just ain't going to happen. >> has the vatican acknowledged there is this sentiment and is it even agreeing with what some

of the women in the last hour said it is a growing sentiment that more catholics want to see a change in the hierarchy of the catholic church, they want to see more women. does the vatican respond or acknowledge that? >> sure. they are not so out of touch they don't know it's going on. what they say is, at least the more enlightened ones, what they will say is we have this fixed teaching that women cannot become priests. there's nothing we can do about that. there's a range of ways to empower women and make sure they have the opportunity to participate in the leadership of the church that doesn't require them wearing a roman collar. in the united states, 25% of the chancellors of the american diocese, the ceo is a woman. 40% or 50% of all senior administrative positions are held by women. 85% of lay ministers, people who run the payroll and parishes,

organizing the liturgies, they are women. the vatican's argument would be, without changing what it considers to be a fixed truth that comes from god, it actually has a good track record at trying to empower women in every other way. >> vatican analyst. thanks so much. john allen, we appreciate that breakdown. >> you bet. freed hiker, sarah shourd is set to get home to the united states earlier today. she thanked those who helped secure her release. before boarding a u.s. flight, she talked about her fiance and a friend who remained behind bars. nic robertson is where she took the flight ohm. >> reporter: sarah shourd looked more relaxed. she appeared to have caught a

little sun. she visited the mosque and found it a peaceful place. she was introduced by her uncle. her words were chosen, thanking the country's leader and the ambassador, saying her visit was unfortunately brief. >> i want to extend my gratitude to richard and his wife sandy for hosting my family and i for our brief stay. i have a deep appreciation for the doctor for bringing me from tehran. for his friendship and his engagement in my life, the life of my fiance shane bauer and our friend josh fattal. it would be a pleasure to return and it is my deepest, deepest hope i would be able to show shane and josh the grand mosque,

soon. one of the most peaceful and powerful places of worship i have ever seen. i will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom. >> very clearly, her thoughts with her fiance and friend still in jail in tehran. she's flying back to new york. it's clear, she's almost torn because she has to leave. they are playing a key roll in winning her release. so, for her, her words and emotions during this brief statement and indication all though she is going home, it is hard for her to leave where she's tasted freedom for the first time knowing she leaves her fiance and friend locked up in a tehran jail. >> thanks to nic robertson there

coming to us from oman. we'll have more coverage tomorrow when sarah shourd arrives home in the u.s. alaska senator lisa murkowski isn't going down without a fight. she lost to joe miller. he was backed by the tea party movement and former alaska governor sarah palin. >> you all know i went back to washington a couple days ago. the land of negative nabobism. these outside interest groups like the tea party express, the pun dents. there's a lot of nay sayers. all the political guys. my fellow republicans, they tell me this can't be done. it's a futile effort. well, perhaps it's one time they

met one republican woman who won't quit on alaska. >> palin calls on murkowski's bid a futile effort. you heard her referring to that word, futile. palin made the statement in iowa where she was attending a fund-raiser. she attacked the obama administration and the news media. she called on the republican establishment to join forces with the tea party activists. >> it's time for unity now. that's the time upon us. the time for choosing is near. in just 46 days, republicans will put their ideas and their experience on the line and they will let the voters decide. it is time to unite. if the goal really is to take away the gavel from pelosi and reid and to stop the obama agenda and make government respect the will of the people and the wisdom of the people, then it is time to unite.

>> iowa is the usual starting spot for presidential candidates. palin didn't address her future plans. igor is moving closer to the east coast. coming up, we are tracking the storm. we are seeing where people are getting ready for igor's arrival now. morning... ♪ and morning is amazing. ♪ it's when we charge into the future. ♪ when we blasted off for the moon. scaled the highest peak. and flew for the very first time. morning starts and changes everything. ♪ it's a clean slate. a fresh start. so come dreamers. and trailblazers. champions. come builders.

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want to know what it looks like to look down on a hurricane. hurricane igor, what it looks like from space. it's heading right frr bermuda with winds of 105 miles per hour. jacqui jeras is keeping a close eye on it. reynolds wolf is in bermuda waiting for it. >> they are getting overcost conditions. itis not bad, yet. by the evening, we expect conditions going downhill. the winds will pick up and expect to get outer bands. it's not imminent that e igor will make land fall in bermuda, but whether or not the eye hits the coast is not relevant. if it hits it or doesn't hit it,

it will have a big impact on bermuda. the winds extend hundreds of miles from the center of the storm. there you can see, it's a tiny island. it helps to put it into perspective. they are going to feel the impact of the storm, no matter what. things are busy in the atlantic. i want to point out a couple different things. julia is going to fade out and move up to the north. not too big of a concern for julia. look at what's going on there. we have an area of disturbed weather that has potential for development. then, back here, we have a 30% chance of this tropical wave becoming our next tropical system. if we get a name out of either of those, it will be lisa, by the way. let's talk about the timing of this system. it's moving west-northwest now. it's expected to take a turn to the north. we could be looking at the land

fall in bermuda. it's going to happen late tomorrow night or early monday morning. it's when the worst of the conditions begin. we have gone down to a category 2 storm. it's not that much weaker than a weak category 3. you need to take it seriously. it will eventually curve up to the north. you might say, do we care here in the united states or do we need to be concerned with igor? you do. up and down the east coast, we have the high risk of rip currents. the same thing we had with earl and danielle. we are going to have rough waves particularly along the carolina beaches. be aware of that. let's talk about the wave. karl made land fall and fizzled out over the land here. maybe some of the moisture might have gotten caught up in the trough as we call it. it's a cluster of thunderstorms

as we call it. it's close to land. there's not a lot of time to develop into a tropical system. it's going to bring in a tremendous amount of rainfall in texas and the coastal areas in particular. we have risk of rip currents in the gulf of mexico and flooding rains are expected in rivers that have flooded many times. we could see upwards of eight inches easy with this storm. >> that's big. thanks. turning to politics now. president obama used his weekly address this morning to criticize special interest groups roles in campaigns. here is a bit of what the president had to say. >> no matter how many ads they run. no matter how many elections they try to buy, the power to determine the fate of this country doesn't lie in their hands, it lies in yours. it's up to all of us to defend that most basic american principal of a government, of,

by and for the people. what's at stake is not just an election. it's our democracy, itself. >> friday the president announced he's appointing elizabeth warren to head a consumer financial protection bureau. they are calling it a bold, creative move. warren will pursue a quote social justice agenda. warren was a guest on john king usa. >> why don't bankers like you? >> i don't know. i thought they did. no? >> no. >> so, all right. come on. i shouldn't be cute. there are bankers, sure, who don't like me. some of them haven't met me. some of them have seen enough. but, the reality is, it depends on where the problems are. there are some bankers who like me. people who want to put out good, simple products that folks can understand and understand the

price, understand what the risks are, exercise their own personal responsibility about whether or not they want to do it. those are bankers, i think, who are going to welcome this consumer agency. because they are actually going to have a better shot in a competitive marketplace when they are not trying to trick people and trap them. >> clemency denied for a woman on death row. coming up, we look at thi sa lewis and the efforts to save her from lethal injection. [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision.

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a look at the top stories

now, alaska senator lisa murkowski is taking a different approach. she's launching a new campaign. she was forced to change strategy after losing to a tea party backed political newcomer, joe miller. strom thurman is the only u.s. senator to win a right end campaign. today is election day in afghanistan. their presence was felt today, voter turn out was light as militants threaten the vote. scattered attacks across the country and 2,500 candidates are vying for 249 parliamentary seats. bp is putting the final fix ton plugged well in the gulf of mexico. the company pumped cement in the bottom of the well. that well, which is responsible for the largest oil spill in u.s. history stopped gushing oil

on july 15th. once the cement drys, the well will be dead and incapable of releasing anymore oil. pressure tests will be conducted to see if it's affective. the u.s. supreme court is the last hope for a virginia woman an death row. brian todd that has story. >> reporter: from virginia east death row, teresa sings for divine intervention. ♪ >> reporter: no miracles, yet. virginia governor refuses to slay the execution. if the supreme court doesn't intervene, lewis will die by lethal injection next thursday. i spoke with her before the ruling. because of the sensitivity of the case, it's limited to predetermined questions for her. we are not allowed to bring cameras into the facility where

she was held. we are speaking to her on phone. if you could say anything to the governor at this point, what would you tell him? >> caller: i would tell the governor, if i could speak to him one-on-one how sorry i am. what happened to two people that i loved very much. and i just wish i could take it back. i am sorry to the people i hurt in the process. >> she pleaded guilty to the murder of her husband and stepson in their home in virginia. this was a crime of conspiracy. she didn't fire the shots. the two men who did only got life sentences. the judge called teresa lewis the head. her attorney says her iq is in the low 70s, near the level of retardation. she has dependent personality disordser making her vulnerable

to manipulation. the experts that have examined her agree that she was being used, not the other way around. >> reporter: he had an affair with teresa lewis before the killings. her attorneys cite a letter to another woman saying the only reason he slept with lewis was so she would give me the insurance money. he later committed suicide in prison. prosecutor david grims says this. >> i can say she is as evil a person as i have met. lewis herself took an active role in the plot. she canived. his side contradict those that say she's near retardation. >> her functioning ability is way beyond that.

>> you think she was faking? >> she wasn't, as one of the lawyers said, she wasn't motivated to score accurately and high on the tests. >> reporter: the contention she's faking a low iq is silly. one expert tested to see if she was faking and found she wasn't. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> there are 61 women on death row right now. california has the most with 16, texas with 10. 40 women have been executed in the pastz 100 years. 12 of those have -- i don't know what that statement says. we have to flip that one. the last one was frances newton in 2005. she was convicted of killing her husband and two sons. a pennsylvania homeowner says the hunt for natural gas is

hurting his health. a special investigation, next.

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exploration for natural gas has become a very big business in many parts of the country. no more than in rural areas of pennsylvania. in pennsylvania alone, there are an estimated 1,800 natural gas wells being drilled or in production. drew griffin now with a report on what the drilling has meant for some pennsylvania families. >> reporter: bill's pure artigues well water they have been drinking for nearly 50 years is now full of methane gas. he's sick of telling people about it, so now he shows them. >> the wind is blowing. it's going to blow it out, but i'm going to try it.

>> whoa. looks like you scared me. >> you are really lucky. >> reporter: what just happened? >> the gas went down. come back and blow it out the holes. if i turn it up a little bit, it will burn a flame off the top. >> reporter: the gas bubbles through the well. you can't see the hose in the bottom of that. it's all gas. >> reporter: it was, at one time clear? >> crystal clear. >> reporter: it steams off like alka-seltzer. what's causing it? like a lot of people in rural pennsylvania, he has been fraked. this area is seeing boom in the natural gas business because of a geological formation known as the shale, a drilling process called hydraulic fraking.

the massive shale rock is thousands of feet below. some chemical that is cause earthquakes. it fractures the rock, releasing clear, odorless, floating gold. natural gas, trapped inside the shale. hundreds of trillions of cubic feet worth. enough to supply us for decades to come. i'm going to play a little devil's advocate for you. it's why they say they are doing it. because this is clean fuel. >> it's not clean. it's a fossil fuel. any fossil fuel, coal, oil, gas. this is the dirty side of natural gas. it's clean to burn, but not clear to get. >> reporter: their well is poise. they confirmed it. they are forcing the gas exploration company, cabot oil &

gas to truck in clean drinking water. they deny the fracturing contaminated anything. a company spokesman cites a 2004 epa study that says it's a minimal threat. they told cnn we don't believe it's contaminating the water. as a technology, it's proven and safe. homeowners don't buy that. they are suing. craig want as clean water pipeline to his home and he wants to be paid for a house that now has a methane release stack in his front yard. >> to keep it from blowing up, yes. >> reporter: and a neighborhood that is sometimes fogged in with a methane mist. will this be a ghost town someday? >> i don't want to live her anymore. straight ahead, children are compelled to go to work instead

of school. exploring child labor in africa.

conservative heavyweights are in washington, d.c. for the values voter summit. it gathers political activists and social conservatives. moments ago, they did their straw poll for the gop front-runner. take a listen. >> number two, runner up is governor mike huckabee. [ applause ] number five in the list of those candidates for president, sarah palin.

[ applause ] number four, newt gingrich. [ applause ] number three -- mitt romney. [ applause ] and coming in as the top pick in the 2010 presidential candidate straw poll at the values voter summit is congressman mike pence. >> okay, the result of the straw poll taken during the voter summit. joining me on the phone, ed rolli rollins. you heard the list, mike pence, the front-runner, the winner of the straw poll. mike huckabee, mitt romney, newt gingrich, sarah palin. is this representative of what the republican party might endorse as a whole?

>> caller: no. mike pence is a great guy. i think a lot of people respect him very, very much. he's not a national figure at this point and time. mike huckabee, obviously, i shared his campaign. mike came in second in the presidential race last time. obviously, if he wants to run, again, he'll be a viable candidate. he's not given indication he wants to do that. these are very important people that came to the convention. the difference between this con ve investigation and the tea party is things are important to them like gay marriage and abortion issues. they are significant. the tea party is about fiscal conservative and smaller government and not raising taxes. they may share common goals. at this point and time, mike pence is a good guy. he's going to be an important

player if we have a majority in the congress. no one has talked about him as a presidential candidate. >> you mentioned the differences between those who might be in support of the value voters summit and that philosophy and that of the tea party. among those that were in attendance, christine o'donnell, the delaware republican pick who was supported by the tea party movement, newt gingrich in attendance, mike huckabee and others on the list here. is this sort of, kind of a -- a bringing together of various philosophies. >> caller: if we want to beat president obama in two years, we need these to come together. the tea party movement is a new movement. it's very active. it's played a role in primaries across the country.

sarah palin played a role. at the end of the day, it's about addition, it's not about subtracti subtraction. there may be different ideologies the people want to puch, we need different voters. there's crossover, but at the end of the day, i would be shocked that mike pence is anything other than a significant leader in the congress. >> ed, thanks for your time, appreciate it. >> caller: my pleasure. thank you very much. freed american hiker, sarah shourd is on her way to the u.s. after making a top in oman. she had public comments there praising the country for its support, helping put up $500,000 bail for her release in tehran. she had words for the other two hikers being held on espionage. she's hoping for their quick release. she's expected to be back in the

united states tomorrow. also, no clemency for virginia death row inmate teresa lewis. virginia's governor bob mcdonald decided not to stop the planned execution. she was convicted in the deaths of her husband and step-son. she would be the first woman executed in virginia in over a centu century. pope benedict talked about the catholic churches sex abuse scandal at the cathedral in london today. it's the first time he's addressed it publicly in britain. the pope offered an apology to the vicks saying the church that shared shame and humiliation over the sins. he met with five abuse victims. all year, we introduced you to five remarkable people. next week, we reveal the top ten cnn heroes of 2010.

last year's winner says it recognition transformed his life and expand his work. he's challenging his countrymen to unleash the hero within. >> the cnn hero of the year -- from the slums of the philippines, the stage of the code kodak theater. >> we are the change this world needs to be. >> for 12 years he and his volunteers pushed mobile classrooms through the streets and neighbors for kids that never make it to school. after being named 2009 hero of the year, he became a national hero. >> this is really overwhelming. >> upon his return, the

philippine president presented him with one of the country's highest honors. it's inspired the construction of an education center funded in part by the cnn heroes grant. >> the push cart, they see it. it's a symbol of poverty. now, it's the symbol of hope and education. >> recently, his story was told in six countries and languages. he's seen weekly on his own search for heroes on television. the young man turned the attention of a nation for a common dream. >> my fellow filipinos. thank you. >> so who will be the cnn hero of 2010? you decide. beginning thursday, we will begin announcing the top ten heroes on cnn.com. it starts at 1:00 eastern time.

you can vote for the cnn hero. all ten are honors on thanksgiving night. an all-star tribute hosted by ander son cooper. children compelled to go to work instead of school. we'll explore child labor in africa. ♪ i thought it was over here... ♪ [car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪

you hear what they're up to now? some in congress are getting squeezed by the special interests again. trying to delay action and give polluters free reign to keep dumping toxic pollution into the air. the air our children breathe. letting big oil lobbyists get their way again, and again, and again. it's a last-minute bill, written by special interests, looking for a payback. washington politicians need to get off the dime, and not let corporate polluters off the hook.

i'm ahmed mady and i'm a homebuilder. my father brought me up to give back to society... felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children. but she needed help. i used my american express open card to get half a million points to buy building materials to help build the jackson family a new home. well, i know if my dad was still around, he would have told me, with no doubt... he would have told me it's a no brainer and i knew that from the start. it was an honor. booming is moving forward by giving back.

leaving childhood behind, going to work to help your family survive is a way of life for thousands of children in africa. david mack kenzie brings us the story of t young brothers in enya. >> reporter: a he knows he must pull a goat's ears to move it. this 5-year-old is still learning his trade.

these brothers work at the market. they make a living delivering goats. if they are lucky, they will earn a dollar a day. >> translator: every day i wake up in the market to go to work. when i'm done, i have to come back home. >>slaughterhouses. where they are dwarfed by their employers. they aren't the only children working here. the local leaders say there are hundreds of children working with these slaughterhouses. now, the owners don't want us to come inside and film, but they admit that they use child labor, which is illegal in kenya. unicef says 1 in 4 children in kenya work. >> translator: we need help. the government must come and forcefully take these children away and educate them. >> reporter: but it's not that simple, community activists say that even free schooling is too

expensive. >> they say it's free, but it's not free because you have to provide uniforms, you have to buy books, you have to, every day when he wakes up, you have to give him food, shelter. > reporter: so they must earn just to survive. "i have to work, because my mom is sick, so we don't get food." when their father died, the boys became the only source of income. their mother can't find wo. we met other women with working kids. these mothers say between them, they have half a dozen children working. >> they don't know about child labor. they think that everybody can work, but in a real sense, child labor is not good for the community. >> reporter: and dangerous. all the boys steal the money and police regularly arrest the working children. one senior police officer told

us it's too complicated to arrest their employers. baku says he does his best to protect his brother. but for this boy, who has become a man, the burden is sometimes too much. he's so small and young, says baku. while children their age should be playing, the brothers have to work. baku told us his dream is to play soccer and watch tv. but right now all they can really count on is a lifetime of labor. then you're ready for new zegerid otc. zegerid otc is the first 24-hour treatment ever with two active ingredients: prescription-strength medicine plus a protective ingredient that shields the medicine from stomach acid so it's effectively absorbed. just one zegerid otc capsule a day

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a virginia farmer is taking an unusual approach to get the attention of congress. he drove his tractor from virginia to capitol hill. the reason? a $1.2 billion approved legal settlement that yet to be paid. here's john boyd "in his own words." >> we're going to be driving my trusty tractor, justice, all over washington. so people can see what a real farmer looks like, a real black farmer looks like, and the lives they're affecting when they deny justice. ♪ hello washington, here i come. house and the senate. african-american leading the

justice department and we can't get this money. this is a case that's been proven in federal court, we have a settlement agreement. we have the administration that says that they support this. congressional leaders in both the house and senate that both said they support this. then why isn't it done? >> it is a fair settlement, it is a just settlement. we think it's important for congress to fund that settlement. we're going to continue to make it a priority. >> we're so frustrated at the fact that this bill failed in the senate seven times. welcome to the white house. but i any that senator obama was a far better advocate for black farmers than president obama. i know he's going to sign the bill into law. i'm here to say we need more from the administration to get this done for black farmers right now. >> you're going to see this every morning. >> every morning until they tell me something with this damn bill. it's been one hurdle after another, and we're going to be

in washington until this bill is passed. >> we just need enough to get -- >> i'm told that senator grassley is on his way down. i'm eager to hear from him and see how we can get other republicans on board and to move this bill. it's just like senator hagen said, we need one or two more republicans to break this gridlock. the only man in the senate that knows what a tractor looks like. >> can you rally more republicans to get this done? >> you know, it's very difficult if the funding part from the other side is only tax increases, because we feel that during a recession, you should not increase taxes. >> it's just been, like i said, one thing after another. one stumbling block after another.

a look at our headlines right now. hurricane igor is bearing down or bermuda, set to impact the east coast this week. we'll have much more on igor in a moment. a message for a former prisoner in iran. american hiker sarah shourd is on her way back to the u.s. but she had plenty to say before getting on the plane. we'll examine how you can protect your family. we're watching the progress of two strong storms right now. tropical storm depression karl has been battering southern mexico for about 24 hours now. flooding and mudslides are the main dangers there. meanwhile in the atlantic, we're keeping an eye on hurricane igor. that's the storm that is closing in on bermuda. our reynolds wolf is there in bermuda where they're bracing for a potential hit.